Tuesday, March 15, 2016

What I learned at the Donald Trump rally

Last Friday, when I heard that Donald Trump would be speaking at
Lenoir-Rhyne University, which is an institution of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America, I was livid. Then I learned how institutions of higher
learning make themselves available to all political candidates in the interest
of a free exchange of ideas. So, Mr. Trump decided to speak at L-R. Okay. Well,
it was not okay, really. But I understood why L-R allowed it to happen.

As it turned out, as enraged as many of us were, it
gave us Lutherans an opportunity to bear witness to Jesus, so I’m glad it
happened. After a bit of Facebook messaging with our NC bishop, Tim Smith,
plans were underway for a peaceful demonstration at the event. I was going to
be away for the weekend. The last thing I did before walking out the door was
post a FB event and get the invitations going. The first thing I did when I
returned home, before I unpacked my bags, was print off 35 signs to take to the
rally on Monday.

They were simple signs. None of them bashed Donald
Trump. That wasn’t our intent. We were gathering on Monday morning to lift up
the teachings of Christ, which happen to be antithetical to the teachings
of Donald Trump. Most of the signs were Bible verses: “God is Love”, “Do
justice – Love kindness – Walk humbly with God”, “Do not neglect to show
kindness to strangers”, “As you did if for the least of these…”

I didn’t know what to expect as I traveled through the
dense fog to Hickory early Monday with my friends Dick and Cherie. Would many be there to stand with our bishop? Would we succeed in bringing a
peaceful presence to the gathering? Would anyone even notice us?

The auditorium where Trump spoke seats about 1,400
people. They gave out over 4,000 free tickets. When we arrived, people were
standing in a line that snaked all through the campus. Pockets of protesters were
scattered here and there. Pastors in collars were starting to arrive. I quickly
distributed all the signs I brought and saved one for myself that said: “BRIDGES
NOT WALLS.”

In the end, approximately 300 Lutherans gathered that
day to show those who had come to the Trump rally what it means to follow
Jesus. Some came from as far away as Nashville and Atlanta. A group of students
and professors from our seminary in Columbia joined us. About 100 of us were
wearing clergy collars. We sang hymns about love, grace, and justice, over and
over, until we were just about hoarse.

Because of the fog, Trump was two hours late in
arriving. When folks standing in line were finally told they weren’t going to get in,
things got tense. The grassy area that had separated protesters from supporters
slowly melted away and angry people on both sides were standing face to face, shouting
obscenities, ready to exchange blows. Those of us wearing collars were called
upon to hold the line. We linked arms and did just that, standing between anger
and anger. One of us started singing “Jesus
Loves YOU” and we all joined in.

I read a Facebook post from someone who was there. The
person wrote:

“…out of nowhere, a red-haired redneck started screaming at the Latinos. They were nice back, but a black group then jumped in to their defense and it got ugly, with a lot of profanity. I was in the middle of this and then a bit of shoving started. Before I knew it, about a dozen pastors jumped in and formed a line between the factions, locking arms and singing hymns. How I got in that line I don't know, but it was surreal, really a religious experience. These days, I am not really pro-organized religion, but I was daggum proud of them today- they really were the peacemakers...”

I know you didn’t see any of this on the news. But I’m telling you it happened.

I also spent some of my time mingling in the crowd. I talked to a group of young African American men who told me how they had tickets to go inside the event and they were turned away at the door. They were wearing nice clothes. They were respectful. And they knew there was only one reason why they were turned away. I don’t know for sure if any people of color were admitted to the rally, but according this this group of youth, none were.

After the rally ended I spoke to some of the people who had heard Trump speak, including an older white couple. The man was an Air Force veteran. “How was the speech?” I asked them. “Oh, he was so wonderful. I’m so glad we came!” “He didn’t talk very long, did he?” I asked. “No, but he has to get to Florida. They need to hear what he has to say down there.” I held up my BRIDGES NOT WALLS sign and said, “Well, I’m on the other side, but I’m glad you got to hear him.” They smiled.

I have no doubt that many of the 4,000+ who came to see Trump in Hickory self-identify as Christian. I wonder what they thought when they heard us singing traditional Christian hymns, when they saw us lifting up the Scriptures in our signs? Could they hear and see Jesus? Could they recognize the dissonance between the message of Jesus and the message of the one they came to hear speak that day?We ELCA Lutherans are often hard on ourselves because,
although our first name is Evangelical,
we don’t feel like we’re very good at living up to that name. I think a big
part of that is because we think that evangelism means walking up to strangers
and convincing them to accept Jesus as their personal Savior lest they die
today and end up in hell. We’ve allowed a certain flavor of Christianity to
define what it means to be evangelical for us. Actually, evangelism is sharing the
good news about Jesus. And, I don’t see a whole lot of good news in the scaring-the-hell-out-of-people
approach. The actions of the Lutherans gathered at Lenoir Rhyne on Monday were
about as evangelical as you can get. We were there to show people another Jesus
than the one they may have seen from those who use the name of Christ to invoke
fear, hatred and judgment.

I learned a lot on Monday. I
learned that there’s a whole lot of power in the collar I wear. I learned what
a gift our NC bishop is to the Church. And I learned that Lutherans can be
Evangelical in the best sense of the word.

What a wonderful testimony of our Lutheran Faith. So very proud to say I am an Evangelical Lutheran and pray that a lot of us get out to vote today in Illinois. There is so much at stake here, I wonder if people realize how much their vote makes.

Very well said. You certainly told more of what happened and told it beautifully. I was a there as a clergy person but wasn't wearing a collar because we were flying back from Maine, came directly from the airport, and arrived just before the main attraction. Did get to sing myself hoarse anyway.

Thank you for your powerful witness. Yes, the presence of the collar between groups who are filled with rage is a powerful way to prevent violence! In the late 60s the collar was often used in this way on university campuses. God bless your ministry.

About Me

Nancy is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She serves at Ascension Lutheran Church in Towson, Maryland. Nancy grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, and then served time at Bowling Green State University, before moving on to Trinity Seminary in Columbus. Starting out in North Dakota, she then returned to Ohio and served churches there before landing in North Carolina, where she served at two different congregations in Charlotte. She was also on the bishop's staff and earned a PhD from Pitt during her spare time in the area of religion and education. She considers herself an educator who happens to be a pastor and it makes a difference in how she does ministry. She is a divorce survivor, and the mother of two artsy-fartsy children who abandoned her when they became adults. Now she shares a home with Father Guido Sarducci, her tuxedo cat.